Philadelphia Flyers defender Chris Pronger plays some head games with the opponents by taking pucks out of the net and throwing them away. It's "where it belongs," he says. (Rourke/AP)

PHILADELPHIA - The Stanley Cup Finals between the Blackhawks and Flyers became so contentious in Game 2 that the sides began arguing over everything down to souvenirs.

The curious flashpoint in a championship series that has taken a couple games to sharpen its teeth became Flyer defenseman Chris Pronger's practice of retrieving and making off with the game puck following a Philadelphia loss. When he did so after Monday's 2-1 Chicago win that sent the Flyers back to Philly staring at a 2-0 hole in the series, Hawks winger Ben Eager - who might have wanted to keep the puck he shot over Michael Leighton for the decisive goal in the second-period - skated over for some words with the big Philly blueliner, who tossed a towel Eager's way before departing. Both players were given misconduct penalties at 20:00 of the third period.

Advertisement

"He's been picking up pucks after the game," Eager explained, "so just I told him he could keep it."

What did Pronger want with it? Let's just say he won't be sending it to the Hall of Fame.

"It's in the garbage," Pronger said, "where it belongs."

Maybe it's childish, maybe it's mind games, and maybe it's both. Whatever the case, it's a sign that the Cup Finals are developing just the snarl Philadelphia loves as the series shifts to Broad Street for Game 3 Wednesday night. Pronger's highly anticipated matchup with Dustin Byfuglien took a step up in physicality Monday night, while Daniel Carcillo's reappearance predictably provided a few flare-ups in a game that was far tighter and rougher than the opener.

Eager, an ex-Flyer, was involved in the early grappling, too, even getting a wave goodbye from Pronger as a linesman pulled him from a scrum, and an earful from Carcillo between the benches. Later, his message about petty theft was lost on Pronger, veteran of three Cup Finals.

Pronger's press conferences have consistently provided a goofball element to the series, but of course, beneath the beef over who stole what, the Flyers take their deficit very seriously and are counting on home cooking and their season-long resilience to get them back into the series. Pronger, maintaining his pace of more than 30 minutes per game, has helped Philly hold the Hawks' top-liners to just one assist so far, but Chicago is winning the depth battle, and Philly coach Peter Laviolette Tuesday discussed plans to rein in the 35-year-old's ice time.

What Pronger does after the buzzer is his own business.

"I think it's kind of comical - if Chris Pronger wants the puck, then he can have it, as far as I'm concerned," Laviolette said. "What is it going to do? The Hawks? What added incentive do they have now? It's the playoffs. We're going to show up, we're going to compete like hell (tonight), I promise you that."

Is that all?

"We did not talk about who is going to steal the puck in Game 3," Laviolette said.